Time Crusaders

by Zeel1

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Adventure, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5037

The CMC look to go back in time. But would their success be a disaster waiting to happen?

The Cutie Mark Crusaders find themselves inspired to go back in time and witness the moments in which their friends got their cutie marks for themselves - believing that seeing them will help them far more than simply hearing about them will. But considering the fact that seemingly everything the three fillies touch turns to catastrophe, what exactly would happen if they were to achieve this? Could we be on the precipice of a present-changing disaster?

How much damage can three little fillies cause...?

(This story is a collaborated one between me and a friend. The main premise is his, though most of the expanded outline we wrote out planning it and all but a little of what's written so far is mine.)

Published 2012-07-10 08:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-10 08:14:02 UTC

Chapter 1 - The Runaround

With blazingly fast speed she soars - sounding every bit like a jet engine flying past. With her wings spread proudly as always, she spins and flips effortlessly through the air. Above the plains, between the trees. This is a common practice ground for her. And as she makes a Pegasus-sized hole in a cloud, she has but one thought on her mind. 'Aw yeah... I'm awesome.'

And for once, she isn't the only one that thinks so.

"Yeah-heh, go Rainbow Dash!" cheers Scootaloo, kicking her front hooves into the air.

For the sake of being cool, she pretends to ignore her little fan, but truly she's relishing the admiration as she always does. No time for showboating quite yet, though. It was time for the grand finale!

Dash dashes upwards with blinding velocity. And just when she's almost too high for her fan to see, she begins her rapid descent. With her hooves outstretched, the air starts to build around her. And then it happens; the sound barrier is shattered, and a giant rainbow forms. The famed Sonic Rainboom!

Scootaloo stares in awe, her mouth agape. It's the first time she's seen it so up-close.

With a confident smirk, Rainbow Dash lands next to the little orange filly. "You're amazing..." Scootaloo says, near-speechless.

"You can say that again!" replies Rainbow Dash, not exactly known for her modesty. "And a prodigy, too! I mean can you believe I've been doing things like that since I was a little filly?!"

The bright smile on the young fillies' face suddenly starts to dim, as she lowers her head.

"What's the matter, kid?" Rainbow asks.

Realizing she has her idol concerned, Scootaloo perks back up putting on a fake smile. "Nothing, nothing, I'm fine." she says. "But uh... I have to go now. School and all that... later, Rainbow Dash."

With that, the little orange pegasus trots off, leaving Rainbow Dash a bit puzzled at her behavior. After giving this a bit of thought however, the proud mare just writes it off as her being starstruck by her role model.

Scootaloo should be happy. This happened to be the last day of school before summer break. Yet she can't help but feel just a little bit bothered by the thought that Rainbow was soaring like an eagle as a filly, when she can't even fly yet.

Later that day, Scootaloo and Applebloom meet up with Sweetie Belle at the Carousel Boutique, where she shared this problem with her friends.

"Aww, don't be so down on yourself..." Applebloom says, with a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll learn how to fly in no time!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle exclaims. "You'll be flying like a... like a... a chicken! Or a penguin, or an ostrich!"

Scootaloo gives Sweetie a blank stare for a few seconds, before deadpanning "None of those things can fly."

"Oh you know what I mean..." Sweetie replies with a roll of her eyes. "Like a bird!"

"I don't know..." Scootaloo responds with a sigh. "It's not just that she could fly... she could even pull off the Sonic Rainboom at my age! I mean, what's wrong with me...?" she finishes, her head hung low.

Sweetie and Applebloom share a concerned look, and decide to try changing the subject.

"You remember when we first learned about that?" Applebloom asks.

"Yeah..." Scootaloo responds, raising her head up a bit.

"We were asking around for cutie mark stories, trying to see if they could help us get our own." Sweetie adds.

"Fat lot of good that did us..." Scootaloo scoffs. "We still don't have them!"

"I know, I know..." Applebloom replies. "If only we could've seen them happen instead of just hearing about them..."

Sweetie gasps at this. "That's a great idea!" she yells, with an enthused hop and a crack in her voice. This gets confused looks from her friends. "Why don't we just watch them?" she asks with a triumph look plastered on her face.

Scootaloo rolls her eyes. "And how do you think we'll pull that off?"

The look of triumph vanishes slowly from Sweetie's face as she realizes they can't do that. Searching frantically through her mind, she blurts out the only possible way to watch them.

"We should travel back in time!"

This time it's Applebloom and Scootaloo that share a look.

"And, uh... how do you suppose we do that?" Applebloom asks.

"Maybe Rarity will know!" Sweetie suggests. "She's smart!"

"Uh... I guess..." Scootaloo responds.

"Come on, let's go ask her!" Sweetie Belle exclaims, running off. Scootaloo and Applebloom trot along after her, obviously a bit skeptical.

The trio make their way outside, where Rarity is busy trying to coax Opalescence out of a tree.

"Okay, seriously now, Opal..." Rarity states, sounding more than a little annoyed. "It's been twenty minutes, I think you've made your point."

Sweetie trots up behind Rarity, who doesn't seem to notice her sister's presence.

"Come now. I'm sure Sweetie Belle is very sorry that she startled you." Rarity continues. "You don't want her to feel guilty, do you?"

"Hiya, sis!" pipes up Sweetie Belle.

Rarity jumps at the sudden cracking voice from behind her, and turns to face her sister. "Oh... hello, you three." she says, trying to hide the fact that she almost joined her cat up in the tree. "Something I can assist you with?"

Sweetie wastes no time and blurts out her strange question. "Rarity, can you help us go back in time?" Sweetie is greeted not by an answer, but by a confused stare from her sister.

"Uh," Rarity stutters, taken aback by the bizarre question her younger sister has asked seemingly out of nowhere. "I'm sorry, did you say... 'go back in time'...?"

"We want to see the original Sonic Rainboom!" pipes up Scootaloo, sounding a bit more chipper at the thought of this.

"And the other cutie mark stories we heard about!" Applebloom adds.

"But mostly the Sonic Rainboom." interjects Scootaloo excitedly.

After taking this in for a bit, Rarity laughs and turns back around. Her horn glows a bit, and a small aura appears around Opalescence, much to the feline's dismay. "Another one of your schemes to get your cutie marks, I presume?" asks Rarity, whilst attempting to levitate Opal from the tree to the ground. No such luck - her claws are deeply planted into the branch.

"Uh... should we maybe ask later, when you're not so busy?" Applebloom asks cautiously.

"A lady can multi-task." Rarity assures them, running a hoof through her mane.

"In that case... yes!" Sweetie Belle starts. "We figure since hearing about them didn't tell us how to get our cutie marks, maybe it'd help more to see how they happened for ourselves!"

"I see... well, I'm afraid I'm not really the pony to ask for this kind of thing. I'm not Twilight, after all." Rarity replies, still trying futilely to get Opal down with her magic. "If I was, this would be much easier..." she mutters under her breath.

"Twilight...?" questions Scootaloo. After puzzling for a bit, she smacks a hoof to her forehead. "Oh, duh! She's gone back in time before!"

"She has?!" cracks Sweetie Belle, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Oh yeah! I heard about that!" notes Applebloom.

"Well then, let's go ask her!" Sweetie pipes up, ecstatically. "She'll most certainly help us!"

"I most certainly will not help you!" Twilight adamantly states. The Cutie Mark Crusaders share a group "Awwww..." to this. "Well, why not?" asks Sweetie Belle.

"Look, I'm sorry, but that sounds way too risky." Twilight starts. "I mean, I couldn't manage to go back in time without messing something up. How can I trust you three not to?"

"Oh yeah, that's fair!" scoffs Scootaloo, sarcastically. "Punish us for something you did!"

Sweetie nudges Scootaloo to get her to hush, whilst Applebloom walks up to Twilight. "Twilight, I promise we won't change anything. All we want to do is watch... please?" she asks, looking up at the powerful unicorn with her best puppy dog eyes.

This actually stuns Twilight a bit, but she quickly shakes it off. Literally, she shakes her head as if to rid herself of the cuteness. "Listen... even if you ARE just wanting to watch, time travel isn't a toy." Twilight explains. "I can't just take you back whenever you feel like it. If I ever was going to do something like that, it'd have to be for something of the utmost importance. Otherwise, I really wouldn't feel comfortable shooting you three into the past."

"But-!" starts Sweetie Belle.

"No buts!" retorts Twilight, turning her back to the three fillies. "I'm sorry, but I'm not budging on this."

With a sigh, the three fillies lower their heads. "Okay. I understand... let's go, guys." Applebloom mutters, before gesturing for her friends to leave. Spike climbs down from the ladder, having just reshelved several books for the third time that day, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders make their way out of the library.

"Think I was too hard on them?" Twilight asks, turning to her assistant.

"You kidding? No way!" Spike responds. "I mean, those three going back in time? That's just a disaster waiting to happen!"

"Aw, come on, Spike." Twilight starts with a laugh. "How much harm could three little fillies cause?"

Trotting through a partially-crowded street in Ponyville, the Cutie Mark Crusaders look rather downtrodden. "Well, looks like the time travel idea was a bust." Applebloom mopes.

"Aw come on, don't say that yet!" exclaims Sweetie Belle, trying to keep the group's spirits up. "There's still a few other ponies we can ask!"

"Well, yeah, but... who else but Twilight would be able to actually help us?" asks Scootaloo.

"Uh... well, um..." Sweetie murmurs, boggling her brain for a bit. "...maybe we should just get back to the boutique first. I think better there."

"Sure..." Answers Scootaloo, obviously not buying that. As the three approach the boutique, Applebloom sounds in, pointing a hoof at the tree. "Hey, look! She got Opalescence down!"

"Huh... that's weird." Starts Sweetie Belle. "That usually takes her hours!"

The three make their way into the Carousel Boutique, where they find Rarity playing with Opal... or rather, attempting to play with Opal, and getting swiped at.

"Hiya, Rarity." Pipes up Sweetie Belle. "How'd you get her down so fast?"

Rarity turns away from the feral feline and responds, "Oh I just got Fluttershy to help. She came down by herself the moment she saw her! That pony really has the magic touch when it comes to animals..."

Rarity levitates a little pet toy towards Opal, dangling in front of her. It is quickly sliced into three pieces.

"I wish we were all so lucky..." Rarity mutters.

"Wow, is she really that good?" Inquires Applebloom.

"Oh absolutely!" Starts Rarity. "I don't think there's a single beast in Equestria that mare can't tame!"

After the Crusaders take this in for a moment, Sweetie Belle suddenly gets an idea. "That's it!"

"Uh... what's it?" asks Applebloom.

"Fluttershy!" Sweetie Belle responds. "She'll be able to help us for sure!"

"Oh yeah, sure. What's she gonna do, shy us back in time!?" Scootaloo asks gruffly.

"No, no, listen!" says Sweetie Belle, a tad annoyed. "Fluttershy's really good with animals - like all animals."

"Right." says Applebloom.

"Not just things like cats or dogs..." Sweetie Belle continues. "...but creatures with really freaky powers too!"

"Y'mean like that cockatrice?" says Applebloom.

"She sure handled him!" Scootaloo interjects, remembering that time rather fondly.

"Right!" responds Sweetie Belle. "She can tame things like that, that can turn a pony into stone! Or... or phoenixes! Birds made of fire!"

"What are you gettin' at?" Applebloom asks.

"Well... what if there's a creature out there that can send us back in time?" suggests Sweetie Belle excitedly.

Scootaloo and Applebloom share a short look, then turn back to their friend, nodding and smiling. "That actually sounds possible!" Scootaloo agrees.

"Yeah! And if that animal does exist," Applebloom starts, enthused. "then Fluttershy can make into our friend!"

"I bet it'd be something really awesome too! Like a dragon or something!" shouts Scootaloo enthusiastically.

"Well then, let's go see her!" Sweetie says, and then the three young fillies proceed on their way to Fluttershy's house.

"A Dragon!?! A big, scary, time-traveling dragon?!" Fluttershy gasps as she dives behind her couch. "Where!?"

"No, there's not one here. We were asking if you had one." Scootaloo responds, bluntly.

"N-No dragons here, thank you." Fluttershy answers, popping her head out from under her couch. She pauses for a bit, then suddenly starts darting her head around in paranoia. "Th-th-that I know of! Eep!" She retreats back under in fear.

Scootaloo glares at Sweetie Belle. "You just had to set her off, didn't you?"

"What?! You're the one that asked about the dragon!" retorts Sweetie Belle, an accusatory hoof pointed in Scootaloo's general direction.

"Oh... oh please don't fight..." speaks a quiet voice. A voice none of the fillies seem to hear.

"What are you talking about?" starts Scootaloo. "That sounds nothing like me! You're the one that's always blurting things out!"

"Well you were the one that wanted to see a dragon!" Sweetie Belle points out.

"Really, please stop..." says the faint little voice. "I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to cause a fuss..."

"Oh yeah, well, well..." Scootaloo starts, trying to think of something. "Well... maybe it was you that said it! Did you ever think of that?" She yells, pointing at Applebloom.

"Hey! Don't get me mixed up in your dumb arguments!" answers Applebloom, backing away a few steps.

"Stop!" says Fluttershy, jumping up to her hind legs, sending her couch toppling over, her voice being raised almost to a regular mare's indoor voice.

The three fillies immediately stop their bickering and look at Fluttershy with wide eyes.

"Uh... heh, sorry." says Fluttershy, blushing a bit. "But really, there's no need to fight. So, uh... why did you come in here, asking about a... d-dragon...?"

"Well, we don't really need a dragon; that was just Scootaloo bein' Scootaloo." Applebloom starts, garnering a glare from the orange filly. "We actually wanted to ask you about any kind of mystical creature ya might have."

"Like one that can travel through time!" Sweetie blurts out.

"'Mystical creatures'...? Well, sorry, but, as often as I run into creatures like that, I don't actually have any of them with me..." explains Fluttershy, shyly twiddling her hoof on the floor.

"Oh... you don't?" remarks a disheartened Scootaloo, enthusiasm fading from her face.

"No." Fluttershy shakes her head. "And certainly none that can...um... travel through time."

Initially, Sweetie Belle looks disappointed by this, but then raises her head up. "Are you suuuuuuure?"

Fluttershy verbally stumbles. "Why, uh, yes! Very sure!" She then nods.

"I'm gonna check." And with no pause, Sweetie Belle dashes outside of Fluttershy's house and into the surrounding animal pen.

"You're doing what now?!" Fluttershy asks with just a hint of fear, before rushing outside to follow her.

By the time Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy make their way outside, chickens are already bursting out of Fluttershy's henhouse. Sweetie Belle sticks her head out the entrance. "None here."

"Oh dear... oh dear, oh dear!" Fluttershy panics and flies into the pen, to try and round up her chickens. The Crusaders watch this for a bit, and Sweetie then nudges Scootaloo.

"Why'd you have to upset her chickens like that?!" Sweetie Belle asks her.

"What?!" replies an aghast Scootaloo.

"Hush, you two!" Applebloom exclaims, before turning to Fluttershy who's frantically trying to settle the chickens down. "I'm really sorry about this, Fluttershy. We'll just leave now..."

Fluttershy turns to look back at them whilst simultaneously trying to get Elizabeak to stay in the coop. "Oh, n-no, really, I-I can still help! This is no problem, really, I deal with upset animals every day!" She assures them, just before Elizabeak bursts back out. "Oh... now, why do you want to go back in time?" She asks them, before flying after the startled hen.

"To see my sister, you, and your friends get their Cutie Marks!" Applebloom explains.

"But mostly the Sonic Rainboom!" Scootaloo interjects.

"Well, didn't you already hear about how we got our marks....? Oh, no, come back!" Fluttershy asks, still chasing after Elizabeak and the other chickens.

"Well, yeah... but we think seeing you guys get 'em will help us a gajillion times more than just hearing it!" Applebloom answers.

"I see... well, I'd love to come up with a way to help you but - ah! Oh... I'm just not fast enough..." says a downtrodden Fluttershy, having just missed catching a chicken after lunging for it.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We've been slow to come up with the answer ourselves..." Sweetie Belle sullenly responds, evidently thinking that she was talking about their situation rather than hers.

Fluttershy picks herself up off the ground and continues her chase. "Oh! If only Applejack was here to help!"

The Crusaders have a group "Huh?" in response to this.

"My sister...? She could help with this problem?" inquires a confused in-more-ways-than-one Applebloom.

Fluttershy finally grabs hold of a panicking chicken... and proceeds to hug and cradle it a bit, quickly calming it. "There, there..." she turns her attention back to the fillies for a bit. "Absolutely! This is Applejack's specialty!"

"Well then, what are we waiting for?!" Sweetie Belle chimes in. "Come on, let's go ask Applejack to send us back in time!"

That was all they needed to hear - as quickly as they arrived, the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran off to Sweet Apple Acres, with Applebloom shouting back with "Thanks for the help, Fluttershy!"

"You're welcome!" answers a preoccupied Fluttershy. "...Wait, what?"

"...Do ah LOOK like I got a time machine?"

Silence falls over the three fillies as they realize how absurd the idea of Applejack being able to help them travel through time was.

"You're right, this was a stupid idea." Scootaloo concedes. "I don't know what Fluttershy was thinking."

"Fluttershy told you I could send you back in time...?" asks a puzzled Applejack. "Ya'll sure you didn't just hear her wrong?"

"Impossible!" Sweetie Belle asserts. "I know what I heard."

"Ugh," mutters Applejack, shaking her head, knowing how futile it is to argue with them. "Fine... but why do ya'll wanna do something so crazy anyway?"

"We want to go back to the past to see how you got your cutie marks for ourselves, sis!" Applebloom explains. "Once we do that, we'll know how to get our own for sure!"

Cue a sigh from the orange apple farmer. "Now, Applebloom..." Applejack starts, a patient tone to her voice. "How many times do I have to tell you - you need to be patient. You can't force yourself into finding your talent - it needs to come natural! And if you keep obsessing about it like this, why, you're gonna go loony!" Applejack puts a leg around her sister. "Now come on - don'tcha think you're better off staying here in the present, where ya belong?"

"Well... when you put it that way..." Starts Applebloom thoughtfully, before giving a look of consideration towards her friends. All three of the CMC then shout "NO!" in unison.

"We don't like our present!" states Sweetie Belle, dashing up to Applejack.

"So we need to go back to the past!" adds Applebloom, popping up next to Sweetie Belle.

"For the sake of our futures!" Scootaloo finishes, jumping up behind her two friends, flapping her wings as quickly as she can to hover over them for a bit... before falling onto them, leaving the three Crusaders in a heap.

Applejack rolls her eyes and starts to help up the three misguided fillies when, from a ways away, a familiar high-pitched voice can be heard. "Did I hear that somepony wanted to go back in time?!"

From seemingly out-of-nowhere, out jumps Pinkie Pie onto the scene, a paintbrush in her mouth. She's covered near head-to-hoof in paint splotches, looking almost as if she'd just bathed in the stuff. And it being Pinkie Pie, there's no guaranteeing that she didn't do just that.

"Pinkie Pie...? What are you doing here?" questions Applebloom.

"She's helping us re-paint the barn." explains Applejack. "Didn't you hear? I thought Granny Smith was supposed to give you a note..."

"She did... but it didn't say anything about Pinkie Pie." Applebloom explains. "It just said...'The Pink Panther strikes at noon.'"

"...She's not all the way there, is she?" asks Scootaloo.

"I like her!" Pinkie chimes in cheerfully. "What about you, Scootaloo? Do you like her, Scootaloo? I like her, Scootaloo!"

There's a bit of an awkward pause as this earns Pinkie a strange look from the little orange pegasus.

"Your name's fun to say, Scootaloo." Pinkie explains, evidently knowing what's on her mind. "Now, what were you three saying about going back in time?"

"Ugh..." mutters Sweetie Belle, glancing over to her friends. "Is anypony else getting a little tired of explaining this...?"

"I'll make it quick." replies Applebloom. She takes in a long, deep breath, and then explains everything as quickly as she possibly can. "Weneedtofigureouthowtogobackintime, sowecanwatchallofya'llgetyourcutiemarkswithourveryowneyes, becausewe'vedecidedit'stheonlywaywe'lleverfindouthowtogetourown, andwe'vebeenaskingeveryponyweknowforhelp, buttheyalleitherdon'tknowhowtodoiteitherorrefusetooutoffearthatwe'llcausesomesortadisaster, but..." Applebloom stops to take another quick inhale. ".....WE NEEEEEEEEEEEEED IT!"

"Oooh, that was quick! Nice rapid-fire speech!" Says Pinkie, clapping her hooves. Coming from her, this means quite a bit.

"Thanks..." Applebloom replies with a sigh. "So, would you be able to help us...?" she asks, obviously not expecting much.

"Yes indeedy!" Pinkie responds quickly.

With their heads slumped, the three fillies turn and start to walk away. "Okay, thanks anyway..." says a downtrodden Scootaloo. After a few seconds, they abruptly stop, and zip back over to Pinkie Pie, their eyes wide. "Did- did you just say 'yes'?!" Asks Sweetie Belle.

"Well actually, I said 'yes indeedy'!" responds Pinkie with a giggle. "But yes! Don't worry, I have the perfect solution to your time travel problem! I've got a real, 100 percent functional, tooootally cool time machine!"

"You... have a time machine?!" asks Sweetie Belle, a massive smile on her face, her eyes lighting up in wonder.

"Absolutely-utely! C'mon, I'll show ya!" Pinkie replies, gesturing for them to follow. "♪Scootaloo, Scoot-scoot Scootaloo...♪" She sings to herself as she starts to trot off, only to be quickly stopped by Applejack holding up a hoof to her chest.

"Now ya'll wait just a minute! Pinkie, I really don't like the idea of sending my little sister and her friends back in time." Applejack starts, evidently believing that Pinkie really would have a time machine. "It just don't sound safe!"

"Ohhh, don't you worry about a thing, Applejack! I promise, I'll make sure nothing happens to them!" she responds, ending with a wink. It takes a few seconds for the meaning of this to sink in, but when it does, a knowing smile creeps onto AJ's face.

"Ohhh, I getcha... well then, in that case - you four have fun now!" Applejack says, trotting off to the side to let Pinkie through.

"We will! Come on, let's go!" Pinkie cries back to the three fillies, before galloping off. The crusaders enthusiastically race after her. It's not exactly a long trek however, as she ends up taking them right to the barn.

"Here we aaaaare!" Pinkie happily announces. Sweetie Belle retains her look of excitement, but the other two seem a bit confused.

"The time machine's here...?" Scootaloo asks.

"You're tellin' me you've been keeping this in... my barn?" questions a severely confused Applebloom.

"Welllll, truth be told, I've got more than one of them." Pinkie responds slyly. "Got 'em stashed all over Ponyville! In case of time emergency."

"Uh... huh." Replies Applebloom, who looks up above the barn door to see a mural of Pinkie Pie's smiling face, set to backdrop of what can only be described as sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. "...This is the one you helped paint, isn't it?"

To this, Pinkie puts on a look of shock. "How'd you know?!" she asks without a single hint of irony in her voice.

"Lucky guess..." Applebloom responds.

"Wow, you should make guesses more often!" Pinkie suggests. "Anyway, let's go in!"

With this, Pinkie pushes the barn doors open. The four trot inside where Pinkie hikes up onto her forelegs and dramatically points forward. "There it is! The time machine! Isn't it amazing?!"

And amazing it is! Why, it's marvelous! It's incredible! It's spectacular! It's stupendous! It's magnificent! It's! It's! It's...!!!

"...It's just a cardboard box." Scootaloo deadpans.

"Well, maybe to the untrained eye..." scoffs Pinkie. "But in reality, it's the Pinkie Pie Time Distorter 3000! The latest in cupcake-based time travel technology!" Pinkie cheers as she leaps directly into the box.

"Uh... huh... and why did you make it look like a cardboard box?" questions Applebloom.

"Didn't have enough material to make it look like a police box." Pinkie responds matter-of-factly, whilst popping her head out from the box. Time machine, excuse me. "Anyway, hop in!"

Sweetie Belle is quick to do just that, jumping right into the time machine. Scootaloo and Applebloom share a look once more. Applebloom shakes her head, while Scootaloo rolls her eyes. But they decide to humor Pinkie anyway and climb in as well.

The three fillies look around the inside of the box. There doesn't seem to be anything special about it, it looks just like any box.

"Soooo, uh," Applebloom starts, obviously not so convinced that this is as legit as it previously seemed. "how exactly are we supposed to start thiAAAAAAAH!"

The three Crusaders find themselves unexpectedly toppling over as Pinkie grabs onto the rim of the box and pulls it upside down onto them. The label that says "This Side Up" is now pointing downwards. That's actually illegal in certain parts of Equestria, they should be careful.

"Allllrighty then! Now we're in time-travel mode!" Pinkie happily informs the crusaders as they regain their respective ever-shaky composures. "All we have to do now is lay down and put our hooves over our eyes, like this!"

Sweetie quickly follows suit, and Applebloom and Scootaloo do the same shortly after...

...and nothing happens. For several moments they wait in this position. Just when they're starting to lose their patience, they suddenly hear Pinkie Pie excitedly mumbling to herself.

"Halt, General Naponyon! Your army of dinosaurs may be mighty, but even you can't stop Medusa from destroying the lost city of Equintis all by yourself! We need to work together!" she proudly proclaims, her eyes still shut tight.

The crusaders slowly move their hooves down and open their eyes to see this rather puzzling sight. They don't seem very amused by this... well, Applebloom and Scootaloo don't, atleast. Sweetie Belle actually seems rather enamored, beaming as she listens to Pinkie make whooshing noises and laser beam sound effects.

"We've got you now, Medusa! You're not spreading the Black Plague on OUR watch!" Pinkie asserts.

"Hey!" Scootaloo cries out.

Pinkie immediately shoots out of whatever world she was in to respond. "Yes, Scootaloo?"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Scootaloo demands.

"What do you mean...?" Pinkie Pie asks, an innocent look on her face. "I was going back in time! To all sorts of different times!"

"No you weren't!" Applebloom states. "You were just sittin' there making noises! I thought you said this was a time machine."

"It can be! As long as you use your... imaginaaaaation!" Pinkie replies, spreading out her hooves, somehow causing a rainbow to materialize out of nowhere.

At this, Scootaloo pops out from under the box in a huff, causing it to overturn once again.

"I can't believe she tried to pull that on us!" Says Applebloom, as the three trot off.

"I know! What, just because we're young, she thinks we're into kiddy stuff like that?" Scootaloo responds, sounding a touch offended. "What're we, a bunch of babies?!"

"Uh... y-yeah! Kids' stuff! Heh... 'imagination', who wants to do stuff like that?" Sweetie Belle replies nervously.

Pinkie watches them walk off with a blank expression, before shrugging and pulling the box back over her.

"Pinkie Pie, you've once again defeated Krastos The Glue Maker and saved all of existence! What are you going to do next?!" Pinkie asks herself in a faux-reporter's voice. She then answers herself by proudly declaring, "I'M GOING TO DISNEIGH LAND!"

The three fillies slouch their downtrodden heads onto their table at Sugarcube Corner, having drowned their sorrows in milkshakes.

"Can you believe this?" asks Applebloom, with a sigh.

"I know..." responds Scootaloo. "Pinkie Pie sets us up on a wild goose chase, and we respond to it by giving her family business. What's up with that?"

"...That's not what I meant, but that is a good point too." Applebloom replies. "I just can't believe we've wasted the whole day asking around, and not a single pony could help us..."

"Or would help us..." Scootaloo adds scornfully. "I feel like we've really been given the runaround today..."

"I just wish we could go back in time." Sweetie Belle remarks, sullenly. "I want it with all my heart..."

The three share a group sigh and rest their heads on the table. A few moments pass, and then Applebloom's head suddenly perks up.

"Hey... that gives me an idea..."

Author's Note

A time machine? In MY barn? (It's more likely than you think...)

Regardless - this is the first chapter of a fanfic me and a friend of mine are collaborating on. The main idea of it is his, though he credits me for expanding on it beyond his imagination. Still, I consider it to be mainly his story.

Gonna be a long one... for the record, I don't think it really starts properly until Chapter 4, the first three are more-or-less the setup. Still, gonna try and make them into a particularly fun setup~

Go ahead and tell me what you think, and any suggestions you might have to improve on it. I'm kinda new at this - never actually written a serious story in book-form before - so I'm sure there's much to improve on...

DIDNEIGH WORL